Forget The Hate
by CrazyXCrossovers
Summary: Chapter 1: Ben's not the only one that mourn's over Jimmy's death. Ben/Hal BROTHERLY love. Chapter 2: A strange yet beautiful dream leads Ben back to someone he's longed to see. Ben/Jimmy FRIENDSHIP fluff. Ben is straight as an arrow. Get your mind out of the gutter, *wink!*
1. Chapter 1

Forget The Hate

Chapter One: A Mason In Need

"We'll get through his," Hal whispered. "Alright, bro?" But Ben wouldn't get through this. It was all his fault. As he stept forward, tossing a small handful of earth into his bestfriend's grave, all he felt was emptiness. He turned and began walking back to the crowd, but stopped when he heard gasps.

"B-Ben?" he heard a voice behind him. Ben turned. A boy stood, slightly dirty from the earth, the red silk bag at his feet.

"Jimmy."

Ben shot up from his bed, his face damp from a mixture of sweat and tears. It had been days since his friend's death, and he still felt as if it were all his fault. These continuous dreams that his friend could somehow be alive were becoming too hard for him to handle. He sat up slightly, his entire body shaking as he pulled the pillow out from under him and buried his face into it. "Jimmy..."

"See, if we enter from here we can avoid them completely," Tom explained to Weaver.

"Yes, but we still have the risk of being hit from the side," Hal pointed out. "See, if we go this way we can-

"Hal?" said a girl who was peering into the tent. The boy turned to meet Maggie's large woeful eyes. "Can you come out here please? It's extremely important." Hal shrugged at his father's questioning expression, and walked out of the tent after assuring his father that he'd be right back. She led him just outside the bunk his family was staying in. "Listen." The teenager silenced for a moment, but heard nothing. As he was opening his mouth to say something though, he heard chocked sobs. He pinched the bridge of his nose tightly, stopping his own tears that threatened to leak.

"What do you expect me to do? He hates me," Hal whispered.

"He needs you. NOW," she replied harshly, and shoved him into the tent. Hal winced, thinking that the brunette could've heard him, but Ben didn't even seem to notice he was there, as he sobbed in the dark. The older boy quietly sneaked over to where his little brother was, and sat down of his cot, pulling the younger towards his chest. Ben's sob hitched as his whole body tensed. _Could it be? No. But the warmth, so familier... but Hal feared him. No way. _

"Ben?" He quickly looked up, to meet warm yet concerned chocolate brown eyes. His body began to tremble once more, even worse so than before. He let out what sounded to Hal like a cross between a sharp inhale and a sob, before Ben collapsed on him in a sobbing mess, clutching the back of his shirt in desparate need. Hal's eyes widened, as he felt his own body shake as well. He leaned into the sobbing boy's arms, and he began to sob as well. His arms wrapped around his brothers back, and he winced in slight pain. But in fact, that only made him hold onto his brother tighter. Ben began to sob even harder into his older brother's shoulder, the tragic sound echoing in Hal's ears and making his sobs worse as well. That was the moment when soft, misty green eyes met chocolate ones in a way that they hadn't in months. Ben's sobbing subsided gradually, but his trembling did not. Hal's sobs turned more into silent tears, and his eyes widened in surprise as Ben pulled him close, stroking his hair as Hal used to do to him when he was in this emotional state. Hal looked up at his brother, a slightly ashamed look on his face from acting so vulnerable and met his misty eyes again.

"You were right Hal," Ben murmured. "We will be alright." The boy put his pillow back down on the bed and put his head on it, now back in a sleeping position, and pulled his brother back into his embrace. For the first time in what felt like years, Hal saw a soft smile on Ben's face. "Thank you," Ben whispered, gently kissing his older brother's forhead. "For everything." The boy suddenly became concerned when he realized his brothers tight hold on the boys back. He took Hal's arms in his hands, and observed them. Medium sized holes were dug deeply into his brother's arms and hands, blood running down his arms and dripping off his finger tips. "We need to go see Anne about this..."

"I'll go in the morning," Hal interjected, pulling stay bandages out of his sweatshirt pocket, and wrapping his arms up. "Until then, I'm not leaving your side." Ben smiled at the warm, comforting gesture, and buried his face into his brother's chest. Hal wrapped his arms back around Ben, pulling him close. "I love you."

"...I love you too Hal. I love you too."


	2. Chapter 2

Forget The Hate

Chapter 2: You Are Wonderful

"Good Morning!" Lourdis greeted us in her usual cheerful voice. She reched into the cabinet, and grabbed the first-aid kit. "Here, sit."

"My spikes got him," I stated simply, not wanting to admit that I actually 'cuddled' with my brother last night.

"Oh, I know!" Lourdis replied. She quickly turned around and I could've sworn I heard her snicker. Very unusual for her.

"Explain."

"Maggie was spying on you," Lourdis giggle, as she undid Hal's bandages and began to stitch his wounds. I sighed in embarrassment.

"Great," I hissed. "Just great." The day went rather boring for Ben after that. Hal was on patrol all day, but Weaver wanted him to take a break, a.k.a Ben no longer had a patrol partner and Weaver didn't want to upset him further. So instead, the poor boy was stuck playing Monopoly with Matt. Over, and over, and over again. When midnight rolled around, Hal had yet to return. After what had happened the night before, Ben couldn't help but to be worried. _Crap..._ Ben thought to himself. _Hal's turned me soft. _If anything though, he was just worried about not being able to fall asleep. He and Hal always shared a cot. The night before was just the first time they had fallen asleep in a tight embrace, but Ben had never gone to sleep in all the time he had been here without Hal sleeping next to him. The second he hit the bed though, he seemed to fall asleep instantly.

When Ben awoke, he immidiately realized that it was a dream. He appeared to be in a jungle; and a beautiful one at that. Flowers, a glistening waterfall flowing into a equally beautiful pond, it looked like a scene from The Lion King. Ben sat at the edge of the pool to cool his feet. He sighed contently. _Interesting, _he thought to himself. _It feels amazing. Almost like its real. My first good dream in a long tim- _

"B-Ben?" Ben turned to see a teenaged boy. He was slightly seethrough and iridescent blue, and a blue-like mist gathered at his feet that went out in all directions. The boy had a gentle smile, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. Ben stood up as fast as he could, running towards the boy. _Oh please don't let me run through him, oh please..._ he prayed. The ghost boy opened his arms, and Ben ran into them easily. _Thank god..._ he thought to himself. He wrapped his arms around the boy in a tight embrace, and the ghost's arms curved around his back. He was slightly cold, but warm just the same. Like he always had been. Ben was content to know that his spikes could not harm the boy. The ghost boy chuckled tearfully, and held Ben closer.

"Jimmy..." he whispered, his voice cracking as he began to cry. He didn't know how long they stood, grinning in each others embrace, but all he knew is that he never wanted it to end. Ever. The best friends spent hours together, swimming, eating, talking; being dead sounded disturbingly pleasent to Ben, at least the way Jimmy told it. The moon was now high in his dream world, and he and Jimmy sat side by side at the waters edge, their feet in the water, and enjoying each others company. Jimmy leaned against him gently, his head resting on Ben's shoulder. Ben sighed contently, and he heard the ghost boy chuckle just as gentle as his previous action. Everything about the boy was gentle, simply everything. That's why Ben always felt so nice in his company. The way Jimmy treated him... it was like he was as fragile as tissue paper, like he was vulnerable. Like he was human. And he loved it. And he missed it. And he never wanted it to go away. But as he heared the younger boy's soft wimper, he knew that it was almost time to leave. The ghost boy took something from Ben's pocket; a light blue sharpie marker that he didn't even know he had. He wrote something in each of his hands. The boy took Ben's open palm, and pressed it to his heart, putting his own hand ontop of it. Ben was shocked; the boy was dead, but his heart still beated.

"Still beats," Jimmy murmured, his warm smile never leaving his face. "This is our place. Here, my heart will always beat. And I will always live." Silent tears run down both the boy's cheeks. Everything that came from the ghost boy's mouth was poetry. It had always been like that. And it always would. With one last embrace, Jimmy reached up and gently closed the boy's eyes with a single chilled yet warm finger. "I'll see you tomorrow night, and every night after. Until then, Ben Mason."

Ben's eyes opened gently. His eyes didn't feel like usual eyes when one wakes up, they felt light and... strangely warm. His eyes widened in surprise and realization, as the previous night's memories flooded back. Ben sat up and looked at his palms one at a time.

"Forget The Hate."

"You Are Wonderful."

Ben remembered something Jimmy had told him last night.

"There was someone in my life who was wonderful. Or at least, thats how I saw it. Because to me, wonderful tops perfect. Wonderful is the best kind of perfect, because in fact, perfect is only complimentary. Wonderful people are flawed, but those flaws design them, the shape them into the best individual they can be. Wonderful people are unique. They care. They inspire. And even though I'm no longer in the world that I was once in, I know that through thick and thin, I'll always have my perfect piece of wonderful."

A tear trickled down his cheek, and as it dripped onto his hand, he saw that it had a strange, yet beautiful blue hue. Ben lifted his open palm, the tear still in it's center, and held it to his heart.

"I'll see you tomorrow night, and every night after. Until then, Jimmy Boland."


End file.
